Craig Robinson, the Obamas and Oregon State: How he makes it work

*** Note: This is a slightly-updated version of the column that ran in Thursday’s Mercury News, for those who missed it (and care) …

No college basketball coach in history has had a year like Oregon State’s Craig Robinson. From his speech at the Democratic Convention to his essay for Time Magazine to his prominent position at the Inauguration, Robinson has thrived in his role as First Brother-in-Law.

It’s heady stuff, for sure. But Robinson’s greatest feat of the past six months just might be reviving the OSU basketball program.

One year after becoming the first team to go 0-18 in Pacific-10 Conference action, the Beavers have beaten USC and Cal, taken Washington State to overtime and bettered by one last season’s overall victory total (six).

Robinson, 46, was hired in April after two seasons at Brown. He’s charismatic, eloquent, super smart — he has a master’s in finance from the University of Chicago — and learned the game from one of its masters, having played at Princeton under Coach Pete Carril.

Bay Area fans get to see Michelle Obama’s older brother in person this week in his first public appearance since … well, since Tuesday.

Robinson attended the Inaugural events in Washington, D.C. — he was a free throw away from Obama during the swearing in and spent Tuesday night in the Lincoln Bedroom — then joined his team in Berkeley on Wednesday evening.

“I had my expectations set as high as they could be,” he said of his time in Washington, “and it easily exceeded them.” Yet, for all the hoopla, he couldn’t quite leave basketball behind.

“At times, I found myself thinking about how we can keep Cal from making every shot and what offense we’re going to run,” he said. “But that didn’t take away from the experience.”

The timing couldn’t have been better for Robinson, what with the Inauguration falling on a day the Beavers weren’t playing.

Asked recently what he’d have done had there been a conflict, Robinson said: “I wouldn’t have missed a game.” (Pause) “That’s easy to say now. My sister probably would have killed me.”

He paused again.

“I guess it probably depends on what game it would have been.”

Robinson never misses a chance to promote Oregon State basketball, even when he’s on the national stage. He worked “Go Beavs” into his speech at the Democratic Convention in August and wore an Oregon State, orange-and-black scarf to the Inauguration. (NBC mistakenly identified him as Reggie Love, the former Duke player who is Obama’s “body man.”)

Robinson knows his status as First-Brother-in-Law can be a means of grabbing headlines and connecting with potential recruits — of making the Beavers relevant in the state and in the conference.

He wrote an essay for Time about the role basketball has played in Obama’s life. He was quoted in Sports Illustrated last week (on the same topic), and he was mentioned several times in Wednesday’s edition of the New York Times.

Instead of dodging questions about his family, he embraces them.

“Rather than having it be the elephant in the room that everybody avoids talking about,” he said, “I’ve always found, especially in our family, that you talk about things that are going on and deal with what you have to deal with.

“It has been 99 percent positive. The only real negative is that sometimes people don’t want to talk about Oregon State basketball, but that’s rare. “… For the most part, it has been a great combination.”

Oregon State tried to ensure Robinson’s safety before the Inauguration by keeping the main door to its basketball office locked at all times — visitors must be buzzed in — and by having a former police officer accompany Robinson.

Asked Wednesday night if he’ll receive Secret Service protection now that his brother-in-law is the Leader of the Free World, Robinson declined to comment.

Cal didn’t expect additional security measures for Robinson’s appearance. The only difference, it seems, is that some fans might have actually recognized the Oregon State coach.